Busted Play: The Series (Players, Books 1-6)

by Stella Marie Alden

  In the small concourse of the airport, an older version of Isabella steps forward with arms wide, “You didn’t tell me you were bringing company.”

  She gives Izzy a big hug while eyeing me, a bit suspiciously.

  “Mom, this is my fiancé, Grayson Patten.” Izzy blushes a beautiful shade of red and I know she’s still thinking of us in the king-sized bed.

  She flashes her mom the engagement ring and the gray-haired woman’s hands go to her mouth, her eyes glistening with tears. “How wonderful! Isabella, why didn’t you tell me?”

  I step forward and shake her hand, “It’s my fault, Ms. Harte. I wanted to fly her here to tell you in person.”

  “Please, call me Eleanor.” She lets go of my hand, surprises me with a bear hug, and I awkwardly pat her back while Isabella laughs at my lack of hugging skills.

  Slate steps up from behind me, shakes with Isabella’s mom, and deftly steps back to avoid a mandatory embrace. “I’m the pilot, Slate Masters.”

  Her eyes go wide, “Well, that explains why I couldn’t find your flight on the board. I wasn’t even sure you’d be here. C’mon. You must be tired after flying all night long.”

  Izzy grabs her Mom’s arm. “I’m starving.”

  “You want to have breakfast at the diner?” she asks.

  “Ah, no. Can we have pancakes at home? Get everyone together? I got something to tell you all.”

  “Everyone?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “Well. I dunno. I suppose Charles and James can come, after they finish milkin’. Fred and Paul are up north a bit, but I can ask. Frank and Justin just got redeployed, but we can call in their sons. Abe and Ronnie might be able to come. Pretty short notice. What’s this all about? You’re not still crazy-talkin’ about your former boss are you?” She turns to me. “Isabella has always had an over-active ima–”

  “I can assure you, Eleanor, the threat is real.”

  Then, together, we explain about Xavier. With me at her side, Isabella’s mother finally looks as if she believes her.

  “That city slicker thinks he can come to our town and mess with my little girls? You should’a told me sooner. I’ll make sure everyone brings their shotguns. If that jerk tries something, he’ll have one sorry ass full of buckshot.”

  It’s clear to me now where Isabella gets that spunky streak.

  Her mother’s face gets red to the tops of her cheeks and wrinkles go deep by her frown lines as she punches a number into her cell phone. “Joshua? We got a situation. You stop by the house and bring one or two of your deputies.”

  I must look confused because Isabella explains. “My uncle Josh is the sheriff.”

  While her mother makes about twenty more calls, I begin to get a bit worried. It sounds as if she’s calling in the whole national guard. “Is she always like this?”

  “Only when she’s truly pissed.”

  We pile into an ancient Ford truck and soon we’re all sitting down at a kitchen table in a split-level colonial. The gathering is so large that it spills out into the living room, down the stairs, and even outside, onto the twelve-foot deck off the kitchen.

  Her uncle Josh has a hard time keeping the peace when Izzy mentions how Xavier took a picture of Stacey outside the Lutheran Church and threatened to kidnap her.

  Eleanor makes coffee in a five-gallon urn while another man shouts, “Why, that’s an affront to God Almighty.”

  Isabella, scoots her ladder-back chair closer to mine so she can speak into my ear, above the din. “That’s Uncle George. He went to divinity school before he decided to buy a bar. I swear he preaches more there than he would from a pulpit. He sure gets more sinners.”

  Walking into the living room, I stare with my jaw dropped as more trucks with shotgun racks pull up in front of the house. I wonder, and not for the first time, if it was a good idea to say anything at all to these people. A couple of uncles slap me on the back and another hands me a beer.

  I try to picture my family doing the same and have to laugh as I’m called back into the kitchen for pancakes. A stack of six is placed in front of me, heaping with butter, sizzling bacon on the side.

  I try to memorize names as Isabella points out each family member. Her uncles look so similar, it’s hard to tell them apart except by the clothes they’re wearing. They have Isabella’s nose, high forehead, and most still have all of their blond hair.

  When we’re done eating, she pulls me aside and into the bathroom. “I’m so sorry. I probably should’ve warned you.”

  “No, this is perfect. Xavier sure as hell won’t be expecting this.”

  An old-fashioned wall-phone rings and everyone jumps. Eleanor answers, then stretches the long cord and passes the handset to Isabella. “I-It’s for you.”

  Chapter 13

  Isabella

  Xavier hisses on the line. “Time to pay the piper.”

  “Shush everyone. Listen up.” I squeeze into the middle of the living room and hold up the phone. Four of my uncles sit on the couch, two lean on its arms, one in each of three overstuffed chairs, and two by the roaring fireplace. Wives and cousins listen in from the kitchen or line the narrow staircase up to the bedrooms and down to the basement.

  The fire snaps, drawing my attention to the pictures on the mantel which give me strength. My history from infancy to adulthood is on display. Always my family is there.

  When everyone quiets down, I hold the handset up in the air. “I did everything you asked, Xavier, you need to leave me and my family alone.”

  “You think I’m stupid? Huh? I know that you landed in International Falls. That’s not what I said to do!”

  Grayson shakes his head back and forth, watching, as my well-armed family checks their ammunition. I know what he’s thinking. This could get ugly and I probably should try to stop it.

  Phone closer to my ear, I say, “Uh, listen. You need to know. My family doesn’t deal well with threats to kids.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” His tinny voice carries across the room. “I’m coming for you. Not only me, Isabella, I got friends, dangerous friends. Better you come home with me than wait for them. We had a deal.” He hangs up, the empty line buzzes, and I hand the phone back to my mom.

  Then, I turn to Uncle Josh. “Can’t you arrest him for threatening me like that?”

  He scratches at his scraggly blond beard. “Officially? No. He has to break the law.”

  “Oh, for lands sakes, Josh. Do something.” My mom hugs me and kisses me on the forehead. “Don’t worry honey, we got this.”

  Josh motions his deputies outside, which I realize for the first time are two of my cousins, Dan and Spencer. I wave as they head out the door.

  Uncle Josh says to Gray, “You come with me and point him out at the airport.”

  I step forward, “I’m coming, too.”

  “Now, Izzy.” Grayson kisses the top of my head which means he’s about to dismiss me and I won’t have it.

  Of course, my whole family starts shouting at once, so I put both my index fingers into my mouth and blast out a deafening whistle.

  Just as it did when I was a kid, everyone shuts up, making it possible for me to get a word in edgewise. “That man on the phone murdered my best friend, tried to have me killed, and stole millions from my fiancé. I am not staying put.”

  My uncle Josh frowns as he places his official sheriff’s hat on his head. “That’s a whole lot of accusations, missy.”

  “It’s all true.” Grayson steps up and puts an arm around me,

  For the first time, Uncle Josh looks pissed, “Then why haven’t you and your fancy lawyers stepped up to put him away?”

  I butt in before Grayson loses his temper. “You have no idea. Xavier is a fucking genius.”

  “Mouth, Isabella.” My mom raises her eyebrows like she did when I was a kid.

  “Sorry, Mom, but it’s true.”

  “Huh…” Uncle Josh thinks for a while, scratching his head, his hat bobbing up and down. �
��I’m betting this Xavier fella won’t think highly of our International Falls. He probably thinks he can fly in, grab my girl here, and head right back out. And what did he mean by dangerous men?”

  Slate, who’s been uncharacteristically silent up to now answers, “We’ve only seen him hire local talent. Best you find out who those might be and where they’re at. Also, we need to find a safe house for the kids.”

  Uncle Josh turns to Uncle Fred. “You call Chuck out there at the airport and make sure it takes a bit longer than normal to land. Ronnie, you call the hotels and make sure there’s only one with vacancy. I want to know exactly where Xavier is at every second. I got an FBI friend stationed at the border and will call him in, too.”

  Chapter 14

  Grayson

  “Hell, no. You aren’t stayin’ at a hotel. I got two unused bedrooms, both boys off to college.” I’m not sure which of Isabella’s uncles is speaking but I shake his hand and endure another back-slapping hug.

  “Thanks, Uncle?”

  “I’m George, the preacher-bartender.” He laughs and nods at the sheriff, sitting at a wooden desk who looks up and waves.

  I’m guessing this police station was probably built in the seventies, the furniture even older. It has three scratched but polished desks, wooden file cabinets and old desktop computers. A blue metal door in the back leads to a kitchen, an interrogation area, and holding cells.

  Isabella yawns, shakes her head, and shuts down her laptop. “It’s like Xavier disappeared. We waited all day. Where the hell is he?”

  “I say he either gave up, landed in a nearby city, or took a flight under an assumed name. Who knows? But your Uncle George is waiting. We should go.” I shake Josh’s hand and we leave him sitting in front of his monitor, face lit by the blue screen.

  This is no damn good. As the sheriff so clearly pointed out, the justice system hasn’t exactly been in my favor. Maybe, buckshot in the ass is exactly what Xavier Cross needs to stay clear of Isabella and her family.

  We pile into a Chevy van, drive under a blinking light in the center of town, and park on a gravel driveway in front of another split-level home.

  I climb out first, hold out my hand, and Isabella takes it. Having her close, her fingers in mine makes my desire flare along with a fierce sense of needing to protect her.

  Isabella lifts a brow with a crooked smile. “What’re you thinking?”

  “I’m picturing Xavier meeting up with your clan.”

  She giggles. “He’ll never know what hit him, literally.”

  A pretty gray-haired woman, about fifty, opens the door at the top of the cement steps. “Oh Isabella, you look so much like a big-city girl, I hardly recognized you. Welcome. Come in, come in.” She gives Izzy a big hug then does the same to me.

  After a day full of embraces, I’m finally getting the hang of it. I shoot my amused fiancé a wink over her aunt’s shoulder.

  “You must be Grayson. I’m Lois. You hungry? Sit down in the kitchen. Sorry, I couldn’t be there earlier. I had to finish up my shift.”

  “My aunt’s a neo-natal nurse,” says Isabella, huffing to follow up the stairs.

  At the thought of babies, I get this picture of Izzy pregnant and paternal warmth hits me. Until I met her, I never thought about the white picket fences. Now, after being with her large family, I want that and more. I imagine having a dozen boys running around my Manhattan apartment.

  No, no. We’ll buy a huge house in Long Island. Get a nanny to help out so Isabella can work, if she wants to. This is how my mind races as I sit in a mustard yellow kitchen with orange Formica counter tops.

  “I’m going to stake out the perimeter.” George nods at me and I nod back, wishing I had a weapon. I should’ve asked at the station.

  Lois kisses her husband on the cheek and ruffles his hair. “I’ll send out some coffee, hun, in just a moment.”

  “Thank you, sweetheart.” Their eyes meet in the way that couples who’ve been married for years, do. I’m sure much is unsaid and yet communicated in that look.

  He leaves by way of a sliding glass door onto a deck, then Lois points to an antique table in the middle of the kitchen.

  “Sit, please.” A platter of cheese, assorted crackers, and sliced sausage is slid in our direction. There’s also warm brown bread right out of the oven.

  Isabella slices off a thick hunk and gives it to me. “Try some cheese. It’s local. The best.”

  Lois blushes as she takes off her coat, revealing her light blue scrubs, patterned with tiny baby things. “Oh, it’s nothing fancy. Not like you’re used to.”

  “I’m really sorry to put you out like this.”

  These people are way too nice for the likes of Xavier. After meeting all her family, I know I should’ve dealt with my nemesis in New York.

  “Put me out? Why, all the other wives are green with envy. I expect them to start barging in any second. They’ve invited themselves to a potluck, late-night dinner. They all want to meet Isabella’s millionaire.

  My net worth is closer to a billion. However, today I’d give it all away to keep Izzy and her family safe.

  My love seems contented as she sits back in her chair, closes her eyes, and smiles. Is this where she’d rather be? In Minnesota?

  My heart heavy, I put my arm over her shoulder. “Do you like it here?”

  Her brows shoot up. “Of course, why?”

  Shit.

  She pushes on the corners of my frown with two fingers. “Hey, I didn’t say I wanted to live here. You’re my home, now.”

  My eyes actually water and I have to clear my throat. What the hell just happened? It’s probably lack of sleep and all that hugging. It can fuck with your head.

  Before I can respond and tell her what that means to me, the doorbell rings.

  Me and some male family members help Lois pull out three card tables and place two wood inserts into the kitchen table. After, we gather chairs and benches from all over the house. A few folding ones are carried in by more as they enter the front door.

  “Are the little ones all tucked in?” Worried about Izzy’s niece, I catch Josh’s ear as the women shoo us out of the kitchen.

  “Like you suggested, they’re having a bible school sleep-over. Your man Slate has them well-guarded. He called in some favors as well. Those guys looked more than capable.”

  “If he vouches for them, you can be sure they are… By the way? I could use a weapon.”

  “You know how to use one?” Josh’s eyes narrow as he studies me like a lawman.

  “College marksman, four years in a row.”

  Nodding, he unlocks a gun rack and hands me a Winchester rifle with a box of bullets. I make sure it’s loaded with the safety on and keep it close by.

  “Thanks.”

  Soon, we’re all seated with Isabella at my right and she says grace. “Thank you, God, for this food, my family, my friends, and my love. Keep us safe and send Xavier Cross out of your heavenly grace and straight to he–”

  “-Isabella!”

  “Heck.” She snorts out a small giggle. “Sorry, Mom.”

  After that, everyone talks and eats at once and I’m a bit at a loss to keep up. My life is full of well-mannered board members, CEO’s, and investors. This? This is a three-ring circus.

  Finally, everyone departs with a couple men promising to keep guard outside. I check in with Slate and he assures me the kids couldn’t be safer. Why then, do I feel so damned uncomfortable?

  I join Josh for a while outside and come in the house around midnight.

  “Anything?” Isabella searches my face and I shake my head, no.

  Lois stands from where she was quietly watching television. “Alright, you two. You’re going to get some sleep. No arguments. We got this.”

  She leads us down a long hall and into a room with an antique sleigh-bed and thick, warm, hand-sewn quilts.

  “I can’t possibly. I’m too wound up.” Isabella looks to me to defend her cause but I won’
t. The poor girl hasn’t slept well in days.

  “Clean towels are in the bathroom, across the hall. Holler if you need anything else.” She yawns. “I’m turning in, too.”

  I hold up my rifle. “We can close our eyes for a minute, okay?”

  Lois, turns on a heel and shuts the door firmly.

  Alone for the first time since leaving the airport, I find my lover’s lips and gaze into her eyes. They’re red from lack of sleep and lined with dark circles. I fold down the quilt, sit her down on the bed, and stand in front of her patting my thigh. Up comes one foot, I unlace a sneaker, then the other. Heaving out a heavy sigh, I sit with my back on the headboard, pull her head onto my lap, and turn off the light.

  Her hand finds mine and grasps it. “Do you think he’ll come?”

  “I don’t know. But if he does, we’re ready.”

  “I love you, Gray.”

  My hand squeezes hers back. “Love you, too, babe.”

  Soon, she’s breathing regular while I stare into the dark, listening, waiting, watching.

  In the middle of the night, George shouts, a gun fires, and a door slams.

  “Stay put.” I slip out from under her and grab the rifle, praying I won’t have to use it. If I do, I pray my aim is good.

  “Is it him?” Isabella is on my heels in seconds.

  “For fuck’s sake, Izzy. Get your aunt and lock yourselves in the bedroom.”

  “Don’t worry about me. I got this covered.” Lois is in the living room standing with a shotgun aimed out the bay window.

  The upper floor covered, I creep down the stairs to the front door and open it a crack, rifle pointing.

  Suddenly, a red laser dot appears on Isabella’s chest.

  “Down.” I throw her to the landing, cover her body with mine, and glass shards explode.

  Fuck.

  Josh shouts, “Police. Put the gun down, son.”

  A shotgun makes a gaping hole in the wood overhead and Isabella shrieks.

  “You guys okay in there?” Josh is closer, now, his voice coming from the front yard.